Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
More trigger-happy New York City cops
Hello Expendables...from balmy Astoria. Since no one has chosen to make a comment yet, I thought I’d add something to today’s post. This is an e-mail it just provoked:
all niggers should be shot. none of those cops had a record of ever firing their guns moron. stop eating those chitlans and get your head out of your ass.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/28 at 09:33 AMWhat do you think’s going to happen to these cops? I overheard some cops in Port Authority last night saying that even if they’re not convicted, their careers/lives are over in ways that most people take for granted, something like that… I don’t know. It feels awkward to judge for situations I wasn’t there for, but yeah, there obviously is a problem in this city…
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 11/28 at 10:23 AMMickeyZ..Like you, I know a few people in LE, and I may possibly one day enter the field in some capacity, possibly in the juvenille system. My goal will help to keep these kids OUT of the system later in life and help steer them towards a productive one. One of my best friends is a police officer, but I can assure you that he would turn in his badge before abousing his power.
What happend up in New York over the Thanksgiving holiday is sickening, and while I do not know all of the facts, I have to wonder what possessed these cops to fire 50+ rounds at unarmed men? Granted, the men were out, probably got a rowdy and were ready to head home, but NO ONE deserves to die like that, no one. If being rowdy were a crime, we would all be dead.
I’m also maddened by not only what happened to the elderly woman in ATL, who by all accounts was defending herself and was gunned down like an animal. Now these pricks want to cover it up? WTF??
Posted by Gil on from DC 11/28 at 10:41 AMGood day Expendables, and Happy Day to Owen!
Mickey I agree with you and would take it one further: Not all law enforcement officers are ‘bad’; but a lot of people enter law enforcement because of a chip on their shoulder which they’d like to excercise (or perhaps excorcise?).
Guns help people abuse people and the careless or unwarranted use of bullets is no less so when done by an officer of the law - in fact I think it’s worse.
As for the emailer...well, I suppose the author ought to hope never to find themselves in need; that sort of idiotic speach will not come in handy.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 11/28 at 11:08 AMGot job interview at 1pm… wish me luck I haven’t forgotten how to proofread…
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 11/28 at 11:26 AMI guess we should blame those who set up the rules under which these police operate. As with armies and any other militant force, they are told to use overwhelming force at the slighest provication. Add that to the pre-existing mindset of a police officer and you have a tragedy waiting to happen...then the individual police officers are punished or not punished and we move on.
Happy birthday Owen...good luck James...hello to Amelopsis and Mick...and welcome Gil.
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 11/28 at 11:49 AMHappy Happy to Owen. Another trip around the sun.
Many thanks to MZ mentioning the abuse at UCLA. The killing in NYC is criminal and typical, and is part of a much larger history (see the unique “Our Enemies In Blue” by Kristian Williams). But I am *astonished* at the absence of reporting on UCLA. There have already been a few marches and Keith Olbermann’s report, but I couldn’t find a whisper about it on CounterPunch, CommonDreams, or ZNet.
WTF!? Why the silence? It happened on November 14, two weeks ago. Between Pacifica Radio’s major presence in LA and the many websites available, one would think word could get out. I’ve got a pal in Santa Monica and will try to expand on this news…
Re: the murder of Sean Bell: as in the Diallo murder, the extreme nature of the violence stands out. I wonder how much 50 bullets weighs? As much as a pair of boots? A brick? A few bottles of water? The idea of emptying a pistol at an unarmed human being also beggars reason. I too know a few cops, and the wise ones who consciously and painstakingly avoid violence are a small minority. This is part of the reason why gender and racial diversity are resisted by PD’s: it can challenge the white-skinned cowboy mentality that leads to slaughter.
Wear your knowledge: http://tinyurl.com/ycrhye
Captcha sez “told,” as in “warned.”
Thhpppt!
Zen ProlePosted by Zenprole on from Urth 11/28 at 12:34 PMHello again, friends. Lots of great stuff here today (as if I’d expect anything else). Welcome to the site, Gil. Hope you’ll make this a regular stop.
Good luck on yer interview, Cat Lady.
For those who watched the UCLA video, did you find yourself imagining what would’ve happened if all those kids rushed in and dragged the poor guy away from the campus cops?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/28 at 01:08 PMit looked to me like some of them were thinking about it…
Posted by JOS on from Chicago 11/28 at 01:15 PMNot an easy decision to make, JOS. The “right” thing, of course, is to step up and defend the guy without doing a cost-benefit analysis. But, let’s say you help and end up on video or arrested. Then you might get tossed out of school. The system is set up to dissuade such solidarity before it can even be hatched.
Captcha sez: Family (as if)
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/28 at 04:32 PMAnd hello to Mickey, James, Gil, Amelopsis, JOS and Zenprole from a balmy Daylesford - after we had 92F yesterday, it will be slightly ‘cooler’today: about 76F.
Thank God there’s no police brutality or corruption in Australia - LOL. A week or so ago, two member of the Victorian drug squad were sentenced because they had, you guessed it, dealt in drugs.
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 11/28 at 05:00 PM‘ ... but a lot of people enter law enforcement because of a chip on their shoulder which they’d like to excercise (or perhaps excorcise?). ‘
You are so right, Amelopsis. Decades ago, I heard from a work colleague that the two worst bullies in his class at high school eventually joined the police force.
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 11/28 at 05:11 PMAnd a HAPPY DAY TO OWEN!
I also hope that your job interview went well, James.
Ciao expendables ..
Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 11/28 at 05:16 PMGood Luck CatLady! (I didn’t know that you’d finished things with Steve?!)
Catch you all “later”
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 11/28 at 05:25 PMHello Amelopsis, JOS, Helga, Zenprole, Mickey, Dil and anyone I missed.
James, Good luck, break a leg, hugs, and hang in there.
Owen...BIRTHDAY GREETINGS !!! (and you don’t even look any older today)
About the police killing, there is a lot of that going on. There have been a few cases up here. The one that is really tragic is the shooting in a Brattleboro church. Bob Woodward went in the church. He was depressed and had a history of emotional problems. He held a small knife to his own head and was talking about suicide so the worshipers there called the police hoping to get “Woody” to a hospital. The police came into the church and fired 5 or 6 fatal shots. There are serious questions not only about the shooting itself but also about the investigation that followed. If you want justice, don’t look for it in Vermont.Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 11/28 at 05:53 PMHere’s something to make everyone smile:
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/3471Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/28 at 08:49 PMre: UCLA: I thought the same thing about all the students at the scene. They must have outnumbered the criminals 5 to 1.
Exploding Head Dept: the Smirking Chimp link is astonishing even for the Union Leader, the paper 4 out of 5 parakeets prefer. “Re-think freedom of speech”? We need a logician to grab that with tongs and put it in a sterile environment.
Helga, I found Daylesford on Mapquest. Even the electrons in this posting need to catch a nap on the way there.
James, let us know how it went.
MZ: did I miss it, or is a caption winner yet to be named? In hindsight, mine was sorta lame, though I credit that to shock.
The documentary “Hacking Democracy” has been airing on HBO. It should surprise no one, but is a valuable historical document (that is, if history avoids a shallow grave at the edge of town). Watching the Diebold suits cop tobacco CEO attitudes is a giveaway.
Posted by Zenprole on from Urth 11/28 at 09:57 PMHey Zen. I think I’ll post the winner this weekend.
P.S. My captcha word is “police.”
G’night, all.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 11/28 at 09:59 PMhappy birthday owen!
Posted by michele on from kitchen table 11/29 at 11:52 PMI too have relatives and friends of the family who are cops and I’ve come to the conclusion that the profession attracts bullies. When these people have children who are overly rowdy and aggressive, they may encourage them to go in the direction of cop work, as happened with a childhood acquaintance of mine. He was always attacking other kids unprovoked as a child and now he’s a Texas cop who brags at family gatherings about how many people he’s killed. And in my right-wing family, he’s not ostracized for it. Of course, 20+ years of pro-cop TV propaganda probably has something to do with that, and with the shameful inaction of the UCLA students while cops were torturing someone right in front of them.
Posted by deang on from Austin 11/30 at 01:00 PM
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